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Porsche 968

Between 1992 and 1995, the entry-level position for the Porsche model lineup was filled by the Porsche 968 sports car. It was created by Porsche designers to take over from the Porsche 944, which terminated production in 1991. The Porsche 944 had been in production since 1981, and had been updated twice during its production run.

The last update took place in 1989, and at the same time, the engineers and designers at Porsche began to develop a new upgrade. By the time the latest Porsche 944 upgrade design was finished, the majority of its mechanical components were either replaced or significantly modified. Because very little of the Porsche 944 was left for this third upgrade, the executives at Porsche decided to launch the upgrade as a new model, and the Porsche 968 came into existence.

The Porsche 968 Club Sport version of the Porsche 968 was available from 1993 to 1995. It was a lighter-weight version of the Porsche 968, and was aimed at those drivers who were looking at improving their speed, handling, and track performance. The options list for the Porsche 968 Club Sport model was severely stripped down, so that very few of the luxury options remained. Even standard features were reduced to its base level, such as using less sound deadening material within the car and having manual crank windows instead of power ones. All of this resulted in the Club Sport version of the Porsche 968 weighing 110 pounds less than the original version.

In addition to reducing the weight for the Porsche 968 Club Sport version, Porsche optimized the suspension of the sports car. The Porsche 968 Club Sport was lowered by 20mm to reduce drag and improve track times, and 17-inch wheels replaced the standard 16-inch wheels found in the original version.

About the Porsche 968

When the Porsche 968 was unveiled, it shared about 20 percent of its parts and components with the Porsche 944, which was its predecessor. Although the Porsche 968 was continuing a line of sports cars that started with the Porsche 924 in the mid-1970s, it was completely redesigned inside and out. Compared to the Porsche 944, the Porsche 968 had significant mechanical upgrades. The interior and exterior were redesigned to give it a more luxurious feel inside, and a more modern and streamlined look outside. To further separate the two models, Porsche moved production and manufacturing of the Porsche 968 from the Audi plant where the Porsche 924 and 944 were produced to its own factory.

In addition to many modifications and upgrades that were made under the hood, the design and style of the Porsche 968 was also updated. The overall style of the Porsche 968 was based on the Porsche 944, but features were taken from the Porsche 928 and added to the Porsche 968.

Noticeable style elements borrowed from the Porsche 928 included the pop up headlights and the rear fascia. The reason behind these stylistic changes was that Porsche wanted models to resemble one another across its line-up. The interior of the Porsche 968 was very similar to the Porsche 944, but there was an extensive list of luxury options available, which included a wide range of colors for the paint and upholstery, partial leather front seats, heated seats, and a CD player.

Porsche 968 Features

The Porsche 968 was a two-door sports car that came as either a coupe or a convertible. It had a front engine, rear-wheel drive layout and was powered by a 3.0-liter four-cylinder engine that produced 236 horsepower and 225 lb-ft of torque. When the Porsche 968 was released with this updated engine, the engine was the second largest and most powerful four-cylinder engine found in any production vehicle at that time.

Drivers could choose between a six-speed manual transmission and a four-speed automatic transmission. This was the first time that Porsche offered an automatic transmission coupled with a four-cylinder engine in any of its vehicles since 1989. The automatic transmission was a dual-mode Tiptronic automatic transmission, which made the Porsche 968 one of the first production vehicles to be fit with this type of transmission. The manual transmission was the standard transmission, and the automatic transmission was available as an option.

The powertrain was fitted with the VarioCam variable valve timing system, which was new from Porsche. The Porsche 968 was the first vehicle produced by Porsche to include this new variable valve timing system. The addition of this new system meant that the Porsche 968 produced lower emissions but had increased horsepower and torque. Other modifications included the addition of a dual-mass flywheel, optimized exhaust systems, and an updated engine management system. All of these changes were made to improve the performance and handling of the Porsche 968 in comparison to the Porsche 944 and 924.